Reflection Section: A Game of Cards

Text Type: Short Story

Text Title: A Game of Cards

Text Creator: Witi Ihimaera

Text Purpose: To entertain and to educate its reader using a possible underlying theme/message.

Critical Literacy Question: Why are we/you reading this text?

Date: February 26th, 2021.

Summary:

A Game of Cards tells the story of a grandma, Nani Miro, who loves to play cards. In the story, she plays cards with all of the other women in the village. Nani Miro and another grandma, Maka Heta are the best at cards, and win the most games; they are huge cheaters. Nani Miro and Maka Heta would both cheat and then argue the night away. 

When Nani Miro was on her deathbed, she asked to play a last game of cards. The women of the village, including Maka Heta all rushed to play with Nani Miro. Heta and Miro had one last argument, and when Nani Miro laughed, she died.

Critical Literacy Question:

I am reading this text because for one Wananga period a week, we are to read for the whole hour. On Tuesday, we read A Game of Cards from Witi Ihimaera for that one reading period. I really like the characters, they feel very real and have lots of character.

Reflection Section

Text Title: Butterflies

Text Type: Short Story

Text Creator: Patricia Grace

Text Purpose: To entertain and convey a message.

Date: 19/02/21

In Butterflies by Patricia Grace, a clever girl with plaited hair who lives with her grandparents heads to school. At school, she writes a short story about how she killed all the butterflies, as they are pests that bite and eat at her grandparents cabbage plants. The teacher says that butterflies should not be killed as they are beautiful, to which her grandparents said that, "She must buy her cabbage from the store."

Butterflies tells of two perspectives, and how ones upbringing can change the way they see things. The grandparents have been led to believe that butterflies are pests, and a danger to their cabbage plants. The teacher has been led to believe that butterflies are a beautiful part of nature and should remain untouched.

To what genre does this text belong to?

Butterflies is a short story. It is a short story because it is ficticious, and short in length.

WTE Sentences

Simple Sentence:
Simple sentences begin with the subject of the sentence (e.g he, she, it, they, I, someone's name, or a place).

He is a cool guy.

Very Short Sentence:

The very short sentence IS one of the most powerful sentence styles ever developed. Immediately, it grabs your attention. 

He is cool.

Power Sentence:

If you find you waffle a bit, try the power sentence. Begin your paragraph with a power sentence of 12 words or fewer. Get straight to the point.

Having a good work ethic is the best way to get good results in school.

Red, White, and Blue:

Use the red, white, and blue sentence style when you have several ideas to convey about a topic.

He was cool, awesome, and popular.

The Adverb Start:

Start a sentence with an adverb, as it adds interest and intrigue. Remember the rule: when you start your sentence with an adverb, place a comma after the adverb then write the rest of the sentence.

Unsurprisingly, he burnt the casserole.

Preposition Start:

Try starting your sentence with a preposition. Prepositions are little words indicating movement or position.

Despite his best efforts, he burnt the casserole.

The -Ing Start

Try starting a sentence with the -ing form of a verb. The rule: when you have finished your -ing phrase, place a comma, then write the rest of the sentence.

Believing that a good work ethic was all he needed to succeed, he worked hard in his classes.

The -Ed Start

Try starting a sentence with the —ed form of the verb. It makes for a punchy opening to the sentence.

Moved by the singer's voice, he was driven to tears.

The Semi-Colon

When you have two independent clauses (two mini-sentences) joined by a conjunction (e.g. and, but), you can remove the conjunction and replace it with a semi-colon.

I needed milk; I went to the dairy.

The Em-Dash

The em-dash in English is the long dash. Use the long dash to drop a phrase in a 

sentence that is at complete odds with the flow of the sentence—way out there—but which adds colour and interest. 

The handicapped man— to the amusement of passerbys— could not get up the stairs.

The W-Start Sentence

Try beginning a sentence with a W-word. Here are some: who, while, when, where, 

what, whereas. The W-start makes writing sound thoughtful and knowledgeable.

When the rain fell, puddles enveloped the vicinity.

Explore the Subject

Accomplished writers use this sentence style. The rule: begin your sentence with the subject then place a comma. Say something interesting about the subject. Place another comma. Then, finish your sentence.

Aron, who didn't feel like finishing his assessments, ditched school today.

Treaty of Waitangi: What Really Happened Critical Literacy

The film 'Treaty of Waitangi: What Really Happened" directed by Peter Burger, is about the signing of the of one of our founding documents. It is a dramatisation of the days leading up to the and including the signing. We know this through the chiefs aruging, discussing, and eventually siging the Treaty, based on history. We also know through the film's title and voiceover.